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Canadian Invents $100 3D Printer

A new crowdfunded project by a Canadian inventor is bringing affordable 3D printers to the masses. Saskatchewan native Rylan Grayston has created a 3D printer and scanner that will sell for only $100.

The Peachy Printer recently completed a very successful Kickstarter campaign. Grayston was looking for $50,000 to get his printer in production. He ended up getting $650,000 from 4,400 backers. Of those backers, just fewer than 4,200 pledged at a level to get their own 3D printer.

In order to keep costs down, the Preachy Printer uses a unique design. It uses a laser to set a light-sensitive liquid resin in order to create a solid object. The printer itself uses a 3D model from the software Blender which is converted into an audio file and output to the printer through the headphone jack of your computer. The audio file causes mirrors in the printer to move which controls the laser which in turn sets the resin in the desired pattern.

I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t entirely understand why you’d need your own personal 3D printer but I’m sure that it has its benefits. At some point, though, 3D printers are probably going to be a common household appliance just like your standard printer. It’s good that people like Grayston are already working to make it more affordable and easy for people to use.